INVESTOR UPDATES IN 5 BULLETS - ACTIVATE YOUR INVESTOR

Companies that regularly communicate with their investors are twice as likely to raise follow on fundinghttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💰" title="Geldsack" aria-label="Emoji: Geldsack">

A thread on a concept I call “activating” investors https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten"> >>

1/ Founders spend so much time picking the ideal investors. After the round closes, most founders don’t know how to activate their investors. The excitement & high from a new investment wears off & the investors think you don’t need them beyond the money which is often not true.

2/ In the early days, companies spend a lot of time trying to look for intros to design partners and customers. The chances that your curated investor and advisor list having a warm connection to many of these customers is very high. You have to ACTIVATE investors to help you.

3/ Activation happens over regular investor updates. It also keeps you accountable and gives you a chance to engage them with a particular ask, advice, or intros which can have a 10x impact on your business.
It doesn’t have to take long. See my 5 line template https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇🏼" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten (mittelheller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten (mittelheller Hautton)">

4/ 5 line template to structure your investor updates https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📧" title="E-Mail Symbol" aria-label="Emoji: E-Mail Symbol">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📝" title="Memo" aria-label="Emoji: Memo">How’s it going? Any major updates?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📊" title="Balkendiagramm" aria-label="Emoji: Balkendiagramm"> Company OKRs

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📈" title="Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend"> Next milestone

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙏" title="Gefaltete Hände" aria-label="Emoji: Gefaltete Hände"> Help you need

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📰" title="Zeitung" aria-label="Emoji: Zeitung"> Upcoming press & Investor call to action

Details here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/activate-your-investors-monthly-investor-updates-van-dyke-gandhi">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/act...

5/ Some of @arrayvc companies have done a great job of updating investors in ways that are convenient to them. Sometimes that& #39;s just what they are sharing internally and a version of that with the investors. The point is to not double the work but to stay top of mind.

Series B: @Placer_ai sends weekly aggregated new customer emails. “This style of updates has resulted in 100+ intros since investors are engaged, see examples & have ideas"

- @Noam_BenZvi, CEO.

Seed: @OpenpriseTech sends monthly financials with target vs. actual revenue. “I get sprinkles of feedback. It also makes me think about business areas that investors are interested in learning more about.”

- @ekwking, CEO.

Series A: @pulseQA shares a version of their deck from the board meeting. “Someone always writes back and does intros. Keeps us honest and transparent. And including the team on it also keeps them accountable.”

- @mayankm, CEO.

Seed: @MadeWithCapsule shares an updated version of their investment memo on notion every month.

Seed: @radai sends weekly milestone emails with new customer contracts & upsells.

Seed: @mapistry sends impressive metrics & charts.

6/ Common concerns from founders:
- I’m busy building and rather focus on the company https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😤" title="Triumphierendes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Triumphierendes Gesicht">
- I’m worried the update might share our inner workings https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😦" title="Stirnrunzelndes Gesicht mit offenem Mund" aria-label="Emoji: Stirnrunzelndes Gesicht mit offenem Mund">
- I’ll wait till I have something positive to share https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="☹️" title="Stirnrunzelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Stirnrunzelndes Gesicht">
- I have a board now & those early investors are out of touch https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😕" title="Verwirrtes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Verwirrtes Gesicht">

7/ I can tell you that the benefits outweigh the concerns. This 5 line update template takes away the “I am too busy” argument. Investors don’t just want to hear from you when things are only going well. When you ask for help you look strong https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💪🏽" title="Angespannter Bizeps (mittlerer Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Angespannter Bizeps (mittlerer Hautton)">

Please reach out to us @arrayvc arraydeals@array.vc if you are thinking of starting an enterprise company. We are here to help https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😄" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund und lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund und lächelnden Augen">